Police arrest man accused of crashing into yard following chase

LEHI — A man wanted for allegedly leading police on a short chase before crashing into a backyard and a young child's play-set has been arrested.

Brian Stephen Platt, 34, was arrested Monday after officers who had spent the night looking for him received a tip that led them to his location, said Lehi Police Lt. Darren Paul. Platt was outside when detectives spotted and arrested him.

The incident began just after 2:40 p.m. Sunday when a Lehi police officer attempted to pull a vehicle over. The driver was doing something that drew the attention of the officer, Paul said. The officer ran the vehicle's plate number and discovered the car was reported stolen out of Salt Lake County on Feb. 25.

When the officer attempted to pull the driver over, he took off. The ensuing chase lasted only two minutes but reached speeds of 90 mph, Paul said. It ended when Platt failed to negotiate a curve and slammed through a fence and into the backyard of a neighborhood home.

"We were upstairs turning 'Robin Hood' on for my little girl, and there was this huge noise and we looked out the window and the car was in the backyard," said homeowner Brynn Lillywhite.

Normally, Lillywhite said her daughter would have been on the playground set that was destroyed.

"Any other day I think we would have lost her," she said.

After the crash, Platt got out and ran through an adjacent field to get away. Police set up a containment and used K9s to search the area, but could not find him, Paul said. They received information Sunday night, however, about a possible identity.

Monday morning, investigators received another tip about a possible location for Platt. They went to that area, spotted him and arrested him.

Platt, who also goes by the monikers "King Platt" and "Tricky Platt," also had a warrant out of 3rd District Court for his arrest for failing to appear in court last month on charges of theft by receiving stolen property and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to Utah state court records. A separate warrant was also issued out of Midvale Justice Court last month for failing to appear on a drug-related charge.

In 2004, Platt was convicted of felony aggravated assault and sentenced to up to five years at the Utah State Prison, according to court records. Just the year before, he was convicted on a felony theft-related crime but received a suspended prison sentence.

His criminal history in Utah dates back to at least 1996 when he was convicted on amended felony charges of attempted robbery.